Extra tuition payments for high-earning graduates

Graduates who earn large salaries after completing their degrees could be
forced to pay a proportion of their income to their universities under new
proposals.

Well paid graduates could soon be forced to help fund their universityPhoto: PA

By Nick Collins

7:30AM BST 09 Sep 2010

A scheme being considered by Government officials would see graduates pay a premium for their education after finishing their courses as part of their tuition payments.

Such an arrangement would not constitute a graduate tax because the premium would be payable to universities rather than the Treasury.

But it is likely to be seen as an attempt by the Conservatives to placate Liberal Democrat MPs who argued in favour of a graduate tax and higher student loan interest rates as opposed to increased tuition fees.

The new arrangements would "look and feel like a graduate tax" without actually constituting one, advisers told the Financial Times.

Officials believe asking graduates to contribute one per cent of their income for life could see universities take in more than double the average £9,870 that they currently receive from a student on a three-year degree course.

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Another proposition would see graduates who go on to earn large sums pay inflated costs for their loans.

The current system of higher education funding in England is currently under review by a panel led by Lord Browne, the former chairman of BP.

It is expected that the group's findings, to be published within weeks, will form the basis of the government's future policy on education funding.

It is thought that the new measures being considered by government policy makers are being designed as potential add-ons to whatever Lord Browne recommends, in the event that his suggestions are not considered radical enough.

Reports earlier this week indicated that Lord Browne is set to lift the £3,290-a-year cap on tuition fees rather than introducing a tax on graduates, despite the latter proposal being endorsed by senior Lib Dems including Vince Cable.